how to eat heart healthy and stay on a budget?

[OKWAnneMarie]

I forgot to add earlier: Eat 1/2 tsp cinnamon every day. I bought the "YOU on a Diet" book and they claim that it will help reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels. I think the studies are still out on that, but it can't hurt. I just add it to my oatmeal every morning.

You were also talking about scrambled eggs earlier and what spray to use on the pan. I just make them in the microwave and don't use any spray or anything. Just mix up 2-3 eggs and milk (or water) and seasonings in a glass dish and microwave for 2 minutes, then scramble again. I like to pour a little salsa on them for extra flavor, but the kids eat them as is. When I'm really trying to cut down I do 3 egg whites plus one whole egg.

Yes, they even sell Cinnamon in a pill form (like a vitamin).

 

[NotUrsula]

Yes, that why I said crustaceans, specifically, as they have the highest cholesterol. Still, it's nowhere NEAR what you get from something like eggs or beef organ meats. I consider any kind of edible water creature to be essentially healthy food when it is prepared in a way that minimizes add'l fat.

I'm blessed with naturally low cholesterol, but DH is not, and I try to keep as much saturated fat as possible off the table for that reason (and because I could stand to lose some weight.) My favorite "find" that I discovered when I bought a Holly Clegg cookbook was evaporated skim milk. Wonderful stuff for cutting fat out of sauces.

 

[dvcgirl]

The literature my doctor gave me said its just as important how you eat as what you eat. You want to avoid swings in blood sugar, that can raise TG's. Best to eat three meals and three small snacks, so you never get hungry. Of course, make sure all meals and snacks are low in carbs, you don't want a rice cake for a snack, you'll be hungry again quickly! Actually, fat has its place in such a diet. Small amounts of fat keep your blood sugar stable. A few chees cubes, string cheese, laughing cow cheese, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, can all make a good snack, as long as you limit the portions. The key is not to get hungry!

This is exactly how we eat.......three smaller meals and three snacks. Our snacks are things like, an apple and a palmful of almonds, a piece of whole grain bread and organic peanut butter, and a fruit smoothie made with a couple of fruits, milk, protein powder and nonfat plain yogurt. Another good snack is about 10 Kashi TLC crackers and some hummus. We also do low fat mozzerella string cheese as well. I highly recommend reading The Abs Diet book...it's totally transformed the way that we eat and feel.

 

[vhoffman]

Oh, geez! I do have a lot to learn! I never realized that spaghetti sauce is high in HFCS as well as sugar. Spaghetti is one of my main economy dishes. I always felt it was a good-for-you dish because I use extra lean ground beef,then drain whatever fat comes off. Oh, well, now to fine tune that one, anyone have good spaghetti sauce recipies that don't have a ton of sugar?

 

[mom2alix]

Oh, geez! I do have a lot to learn! I never realized that spaghetti sauce is high in HFCS as well as sugar. Spaghetti is one of my main economy dishes. I always felt it was a good-for-you dish because I use extra lean ground beef,then drain whatever fat comes off. Oh, well, now to fine tune that one, anyone have good spaghetti sauce recipies that don't have a ton of sugar?

I like this one:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandmas-meat-sauce/detail.aspx

One of the suggestions in the reviews is to replace the other meats with ground turkey to make it lower in fat.

 

[nbodyhome]

I actually had noticed all the sugar in the pasta sauce I normally buy (including HFCS) the other day. I bet there are some jarred sauces without so much sugar and without HFCS, maybe a brand like Paul Newmans?

I actually eat 5 or 6 fairly equal meals a day, plus occasional snacks (like a Motts HH).

Oh - check out the Heinz Ketchup too. I did a run through my cabinets the other day so I could finish a write up. There are 4 grams of sugar (about 1 tsp) in 1 tbsp of ketchup - including HFCS.

 

[NotUrsula]

You can use the straight canned tomato products, most of them only contain tomatoes, water and salt (but do check). It's the fully prepared "just heat" sauces that have so much sugar.

The basic sauce ratio for canned-base sauce that everyone I know has always used is 1 part canned tomato paste to 2 parts canned tomato sauce, plus 2 parts water (that will mostly cook off as it simmers.) To that base you can add whatever veggies or seasonings you like the flavor of. Spices I use include thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, bay leaf, hot paprika, and black pepper, plus lots of onions and garlic. I do add a bit of brown sugar before finishing in order to cut the acidity, just because I like it a little less tart.

 

[Motherofboys]

Here is a good recipe that is a time saver too!

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) whole tomatoes, undrained, cut up
1 can (12 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper


In a large nonstick skillet, cook the beef, mushrooms and onion until meat is no longer
pink; drain. Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste,
tomato sauce, broth, parsley, brown sugar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and cook
on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over spaghetti.

12 servings.

1/2 cup sauce (calculated without spaghetti) equals 115 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 19 mg cholesterol, 493 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 10 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 1 lean meat.

Adapted from TOH Light & Tasty

 

[vhoffman]

You can use the straight canned tomato products, most of them only contain tomatoes, water and salt (but do check). It's the fully prepared "just heat" sauces that have so much sugar.

The basic sauce ratio for canned-base sauce that everyone I know has always used is 1 part canned tomato paste to 2 parts canned tomato sauce, plus 2 parts water (that will mostly cook off as it simmers.) To that base you can add whatever veggies or seasonings you like the flavor of. Spices I use include thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, bay leaf, hot paprika, and black pepper, plus lots of onions and garlic. I do add a bit of brown sugar before finishing in order to cut the acidity, just because I like it a little less tart.

I totally forgot--that's exactly what my mother did, before Ragu!Sounds easy and inexpensive, too!

 

[vhoffman]

Here is a good recipe that is a time saver too!

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) whole tomatoes, undrained, cut up
1 can (12 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper


In a large nonstick skillet, cook the beef, mushrooms and onion until meat is no longer
pink; drain. Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste,
tomato sauce, broth, parsley, brown sugar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and cook
on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over spaghetti.

12 servings.

1/2 cup sauce (calculated without spaghetti) equals 115 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 19 mg cholesterol, 493 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 10 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 1 lean meat.

Adapted from TOH Light & Tasty

sounds yummy, especially on these cold winter days!

 

[ducklite]

You can use the straight canned tomato products, most of them only contain tomatoes, water and salt (but do check). It's the fully prepared "just heat" sauces that have so much sugar.

The reason I specifically mentioned using the POMI brand tomatoes earlier on the thread is that they are tomoats. Just tomoatos. No citric acid, no salt, no water, no sugar, just tomatos. They are a little more expensive, but they are a lot better for you, and a LOT better tasting.

Anne

 

[vhoffman]

The reason I specifically mentioned using the POMI brand tomatoes earlier on the thread is that they are tomoats. Just tomoatos. No citric acid, no salt, no water, no sugar, just tomatos. They are a little more expensive, but they are a lot better for you, and a LOT better tasting.

Anne

So what does POMI stand for? Or is it just a brand? Can you get it at Costco? Tomato sauce dishes are a staple of my budgeting--spaghetti, chili, stews, etc. Need to find a way to cut down on the sugar content.

 

[vhoffman]

I just tried this recipe out of a magazine this week and it was really good and super easy:

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast (I used 2 large frozen breasts, defrosted)
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp chili powder
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup chunky salsa
12 whole wheat tortillas (6 inches)
Lettuce, tomatoes, whatever taco toppings you like.

Place chicken in crock pot. Combine lime jiuce and chili powder: pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken from crock pot and let cool for a few minutes, then shred it and return to crcok pot. Add salsa and corn and cook for another 30 minutes or so.

This make a LOT of taco filling. We had leftovers. You can't beat feeding a family of 4 with 2 chicken breasts!

Another tip, I use the low carb pasta (which is kind of high for pasta, but not compared to other things). Mix a ton of veggies in with it and you'll cut the amount of pasta you eat, plus the fiber from the veggies helps fill you up. I use broccoli, zucchini, and spinach mostly. I think they go best with pasta, but whatever you like will work. Make your own spaghetti sauce, it's nearly impossible to find sauce that doesn't have tons of sugar (or HFCS) that isn't really expensvie. Fortunately canned tomatoes are pretty cheap and you can make good sauce pretty easily.

Found which magazine the recipes came from: TOH Simple and Delicious Nov/Dec

Trying out this recipie tonight!

 

[vhoffman]

Trying out this recipie tonight!

Oh, BTW, are you sure that amount of lime juice is correct? 3 tbsp? Seems like too little fluid for the crock pot. Do you use frozen or thawed chicken breasts? I have 4 good sized chicken breasts frozen, this looks like a good way to use them up!

 

[ducklite]

So what does POMI stand for? Or is it just a brand? Can you get it at Costco? Tomato sauce dishes are a staple of my budgeting--spaghetti, chili, stews, etc. Need to find a way to cut down on the sugar content.

It's a brand name, I believe they are a subdivision of Parmalat.

I do'nt know about Costco, I do'nt shop there, but Super Target carries them. They come in a box, like a large juice box.

Anne

 

[mom2alix]

Oh, BTW, are you sure that amount of lime juice is correct? 3 tbsp? Seems like too little fluid for the crock pot. Do you use frozen or thawed chicken breasts? I have 4 good sized chicken breasts frozen, this looks like a good way to use them up!

I used 2 good sized frozen breasts that I had thawed in a bowl of cold water. I thought the 3 tbsp seemed too skimpy too, but it worked? The juice from the chicken plus the lime juice was all it took.

 

[NotUrsula]

Crock pots, by their nature, conserve liquids, because nothing "burns off." As a general rule, crock recipes will use less liquid than similar versions cooked in an open pot on the stove.

 

[vhoffman]

Bump

Anyone know if coffee affects triglycerides?

And what about peanut butter? Another staple around here, especially for my kids. Is the sugar content too high? I tried some organic peanut butter, too sticky, wouldn't spread, and literally stuck my mouth together!

 

[ducklite]

Bump

Anyone know if coffee affects triglycerides?

And what about peanut butter? Another staple around here, especially for my kids. Is the sugar content too high? I tried some organic peanut butter, too sticky, wouldn't spread, and literally stuck my mouth together!

Peanut butter has a lot of salt and fat. My DH used to eat a ton of it, and lost three pounds in one month by changing nothing in his diet except replacing the PB&J with turkey or chicken and a thin slice of cheese. (He eats it with no condiments--yuck!)

Anne

 

[nbodyhome]

Peanut butter is actually good for you (just like nuts are) in small amounts. I don't personally like PB or nuts, but a fitness coach I had used to have a teaspoon or so of PB after a strength workout for the protein. It's a great way to get protein and some healthy fat in quickly.

I would expect that freshly made PB would be even healthier than much of what is on the shelf. But turkey is great too, and you can eat more of it.